Chapter 597: The Balkans
Khrushchev and Voroshilov were now in a very tragic situation. Apart from some simple local arsenals that could produce and supplement some light weapons and ammunition, they really had no ability to repair or produce heavy weapons. The devastating blow that this bombing had brought to the Crimean Peninsula had almost cost the two of them their lives.
About 100 anti-aircraft guns had been destroyed, most of which were large-caliber 85mm guns. This had directly shattered and collapsed the high-altitude air defense network of the Crimea. From this day on, the vicinity of Sevastopol became a frequent target of German bombers. And this time, due to operational needs, the large “Butcher” strategic bombers were replaced by the obsolete medium-range Do-217 bombers, whose range was just right, not to mention economical.
Khrushchev and Voroshilov had not had many resources to begin with. Their only bit of self-sufficient industrial base was in Sevastopol and Kerch. Now one had become a pile of ruins, the fire not even completely extinguished after two days. The magnitude of the losses caused by this bombing to the forces controlled by the two men was imaginable.
Everyone had thought that the German army would immediately launch the Crimean campaign after this bombing, but the Germans did not appear at the expected positions as scheduled. The entire German-Soviet temporary line of control remained calm, and the German army did not even have the idea of a small-scale sortie. On the fourth day, just when everyone thought that this German bombing was just a large-scale reprisal for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet’s shelling, the German bombers once again swept across the entire Crimean region.
No one any longer doubted the German army’s offensive target. The Soviet command estimated that the German offensive would begin within 24 hours. The American intelligence analysis department, after receiving the news, also predicted that a large-scale battle was about to break out in the Crimea. And to have large-scale bombing of the Crimea for five consecutive days was something that had not happened since the Battle of Britain.
However, what was ultimately a source of wry amusement was that after the great bombing of Sevastopol had continued for five days, the Crimean campaign had not broken out. Instead, the flames of war had suddenly ignited on the Balkan Peninsula. Turkey, without a declaration of war, launched a full-scale invasion of Bulgaria. 400,000 Turkish infantry crossed the Bulgarian border and began a fierce attack to the north.
Two hours later, Romania joined this massive war of partition. It declared war on Bulgaria, and its army entered the northern region of Bulgaria, beginning to seize Bulgarian territory. The war proceeded very smoothly. Because of the German army’s containment, the focus of the Bulgarian defense was on the northwest, and their other main forces were in the southern region, guarding against Turkey. So Romania had achieved an astonishing result of advancing 30 kilometers after the war began.
About four hours later, Italy arrived late to the party, declaring war on all the countries on the Balkan Peninsula. Then, the Italian troops impatiently entered the Croatian region and engaged in a fierce battle with the local defenders.
The battle was very fierce. For the first time, the Italians brought out their true strength. After a long period of brewing, Italy was fully prepared in both logistics and morale. This offensive could be described as crushing. Italy had committed 900 cannons alone, which had beaten the Yugoslav army on the border into a pulp.
From this, it could be seen that when they were fully prepared and had the resolve for a campaign, the Italian troops did indeed have a certain combat effectiveness. At the very least, the mainline Italian forces were not as useless as legend had it. They were definitely a relatively formidable force. If one were to assess the combat effectiveness of the Italian army when all was said and done, it was at least about the same as Japan’s. But in most cases, the Italians lacked the courage to fight to the death and were not as desperate in their momentum as the Japanese.
But although the Italians fought well, they did not achieve any decent results. Several Yugoslav divisions on the border, relying on their strong defensive lines, had stopped the Italian offensive. Although they had suffered heavy casualties, they still had not yielded an inch. After a day and a night of fighting, the positions were still in the control of the Yugoslav soldiers. The Italian troops had only achieved some insignificant results in some local areas.
Akado had no desire to throw the main force of the German army into the mess of the Balkans to get entangled with partisans. This was the powder keg of European war. The wars caused by ethnic disputes were pretty much the entire history of large-scale European wars. No one who got bogged down in this region would be too comfortable. At least, until the ethnic problems were completely resolved, there would be no real peace here.
So the German army was only prepared to control a part of the region and to throw most of the hot potato to Turkey, Italy, and Romania. What the German army really wanted was Crete. Once they took it, the German army would gain a permanent military base in the Mediterranean. In the partition meeting held by the several countries that had invaded the Balkan Peninsula, Akado had chosen to avoid participating in the struggle for the Balkan region as much as possible. This had made Turkey and Italy very satisfied. So Turkey, disregarding the protests of the Soviet Union, had blockaded the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
The next day, at a time when the Balkan Peninsula was ablaze with war, the German army declared war on Bulgaria, and the entire Balkan campaign was in full swing. The Bulgarian government subsequently surrendered to the German army and Romania, ceding about a third of its territory to Turkey. And so, on July 30th, 1938, Turkey gained a land border with Greece.
On July 31st, 1938, Turkey declared war on Greece. On the same day, Mussolini visited Germany. He rushed by plane to the Wolf’s Lair for an audience with Akado, hoping to get the support of the German army in the Balkan War. Because he could see that if Akado were to stand aside, then two-thirds of the entire Balkan region might fall into the hands of the powerful and well-prepared Turkey, and Italy’s interests would be threatened.
“My Führer, you must consider the unbreakable alliance between Germany and Italy in Europe. If Turkey is allowed to control the entire Balkans, this is actually not in Germany’s fundamental interest,” Mussolini said the moment they met, impatiently trying to drive a wedge. He had to get Akado to help, to let Italy reap enough benefits in the war to secure his position as the leader of Italy. After all, he was not quite the same as Akado. Mussolini had a nominal leader above his head, His Majesty the King of Italy.
“Great leader of Italy, Germany is seriously fulfilling all the alliance treaties between Germany and Italy. In North Africa, the Germans are fighting and bleeding to expand Italy’s colonies. In the Balkans, the German Foreign Ministry is also giving its full support to Italy’s offensive operations. Is this not enough?” Akado knew that Mussolini was coming and had deliberately prepared a conference room with a map of the Soviet Eastern Front to receive him. Akado had even brought the Chief of the General Staff, Manstein, with the aim of reaping more benefits.
Manstein was a traditional military man. He took obedience to orders as his bounden duty. Akado had ordered him to act according to the script, so when he spoke of the Eastern Front, it was practically not a single word of truth. He pointed to the map and gave Mussolini a half-hour military lesson: “The German army is preparing for a summer offensive and an autumn decisive battle. The main forces will launch a fierce assault in several sectors, and will ultimately encircle the Soviet capital of Moscow, to end the Eastern Front war once and for all.”
In short, this German Chief of the General Staff, at the Führer’s behest, had taken the old version of the Barbarossa plan and had presented it as the real thing, talking Mussolini’s head off. In his mouth, the German army in the future would have to launch at least four large-scale offensive operations, using over 6,000 tanks and deploying over 70% of the German air force’s strength. Such a massive plan, just listening to it made Mussolini feel very good.
But then came the fatal problem. Such a massive operational plan, if it were to be forcibly中止 (zhōngzhǐ – halted) because of Italy, then what would Italy have to offer to compensate for the losses suffered by the German army? This matter was not big, but it was definitely not small. If Germany were to insist that if the operational deployment were to be disrupted, it would lose the war, then Italy could not afford to pay.
Mussolini gritted his teeth and begged Akado for help, having already cursed his own generals and those incompetent troops countless times in his heart. He had single-mindedly wanted to restore Italy to the glory of the Roman Empire, but unfortunately, he had met with the old Chinese saying: “The heart is higher than the sky, but life is as thin as paper.” His plans had been repeatedly frustrated, and the Roman Empire in his heart, which would have the Mediterranean as its inner lake, was also getting further and further away from him.
But this was the Wolf’s Lair of the Third Reich. No one pitied Miss Mussolini’s body and her maid’s fate. Akado said to Mussolini helplessly, “If the entire plan is forcibly中止 (zhōngzhǐ – halted), then in the winter, the German army will be caught off guard by the Soviets, and the Reich will suffer heavy losses. You know, if we have a problem on the Eastern Front, then everything will be finished.”
“My Führer, if you help me this time, then Italy is willing to provide a 200,000-strong expeditionary force on the Eastern Front to help Germany resist the Soviet invasion in the winter!” Mussolini said, gritting his teeth and throwing out his bargaining chip. “Some of the peripheral colonies in Africa, Italy is willing to cede a part of them as the price for Germany and France sending troops! How about it?”
“400,000! Rest assured, I only need 100,000 Italian troops to participate in the frontline combat. The rest of the troops I will place in the rear to stabilize the supply lines,” Akado said, holding up four fingers and haggling. “This way we can make up for our losses and give the supporters of the Third Reich an explanation.”
Published: 2025-09-09T03:32:43.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-01-13T16:21:24.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c597-balkans-138475616
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